Sensex, Nifty lower as virus fallout dents risk appetite

BENGALURU (Reuters) - Indian shares fell on Tuesday, tracking losses in global peers after technology giant Apple and lender HSBC flagged business impact from the coronavirus outbreak in China.

Apple Inc on Monday said it was unlikely to meet its March-quarter sales guidance, while HSBC Holdings PLC said the epidemic was hurting its Asia business.

The broader NSE Nifty 50 index ended 0.4% lower at 11,992.50, while the benchmark S&P BSE Sensex closed down 0.39% at 40,894.38.

The Nifty 50 index settled below the psychological 12,000 level for the first time in two weeks. MSCI's broadest index of Asia-Pacific shares outside Japan fell 1.1%, while Tokyo's Nikkei dropped 1.4%. Europe's STOXX 600 index was down 0.5%.

Banking and financial stocks were major laggards on the Nifty 50, with the subindex of PSU banks falling 0.81%. The Nifty metals index dropped 1.2%, while the auto index lost 1%.

Bharti Infratel was the top loser, ending 11.34% lower, while Coal India was the top gainer, rising 2.9%.

The blue-chip index has dropped 1.45% so far this year. It slipped over 3% from its Jan. 20 record intraday high of 12,430.50, weighed down by the impact of the outbreak and an unimpressive annual federal budget.

(Reporting by Nallur Sethuraman in Bengaluru; Editing by Devika Syamnath)